ONE DOUGH, THREE APPLICATIONS

Green Onion (or Scallion) Pancake

I like efficiency. My father was fond of saying: "If it takes you only two steps, why would you take three?" I think of that often, especially when I'm cooking. I appreciate recipes that are more than one-hit wonders. 

The dough from my potsticker recipe is just flour and warm water, but there are several ways you can use the dough. If you doubled the amount of dough, you could make potstickers, green onion pancakes and homestyle noodles in one session. You can freeze what you don't plan on eating right away for a snack or meal on another day. The photo below shows the finished products: From the left are the green onion pancakes, potstickers and hand-cut noodles.

To make the noodles: 

• Roll out the dough to desired thickness from 1/8" to 1/4".
• Fold dough in half and in half again.
• Cut strips to desired width.
• Unfurl the noodles and either cook right away or place on a baking sheet to freeze. Once frozen, store noodles in a plastic zipper bag. 

To make the green onion pancakes:

• Chopped green onions, about 1 tablespoon per pancake.
• Salt
• Vegetable oil
• Dough
• To cook: Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add about 1 teaspoon vegetable oil. Place a pancake in the pan. Cook until browned on one side, turn and cook the other side until browned. You may need to adjust the heat if the pancake is browning too quickly.

Green Onion Pancakes from Hsiao-Ching Chou on Vimeo.

To make make the potstickers:

• Watch this video to see how to roll out the wrappers and then pleat to seal the edges.

Potsticker from Hsiao-Ching Chou on Vimeo.

Chou Family Potstickers

My mom and I are famous for our potstickers. We've taught many how-to classes and appeared on the Travel Channel show, "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations" and an NPR segment. It takes a little effort to make potstickers from scratch, but you won't want to go back to bad takeout.

Makes About 50 potstickers

For the dough::

4 cups all-purpose flour, divided, plus more if needed
1 1/2 cup warm water, divided, plus more if needed.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups flour with 3/4 cup water. Continue adding flour and water in increments until you have added all it. Mix well with a dough mixer or wooden spoon until it starts to come together. Add more water as necessary.

Use your hands to form the dough into a rough ball. If the dough is too wet, you can add a little more flour. The dough won't feel smooth at this point. Cover the rounded dough with a damp towel and let it rest while you make the filling.

For the filling:

1 pound ground pork (preferably Kurobuta pork)
2 cups roughly chopped Chinese cabbage
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 teaspoon finely minced fresh ginger
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon finely ground white pepper (optional)
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
Flour, for dusting
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more as needed

In a large bowl, combine the ground pork, cabbage, green onions, ginger, soy sauce, white pepper, and sesame oil. Combine thoroughly using your hands.

To form the dumplings, knead the dough for several minutes until it feels smooth.

Divide it into 4 sections. Roll each portion onto a floured surface into a log about 5 inches long and 1/2-inch in diameter. Cut the log into 9 or 10 even pieces. Dust with flour as needed.

Roll each piece into a ball, then press it between your palms into a silver-dollar-size disk. With a Chinese rolling pin (available in Asian markets) or a 3/4-inch wooden dowel from a hardware store, roll each disk into a flat circle about 3 inches in diameter. Don't worry about making a perfect circle.

Place a dollop of filling, about a teaspoon or so, into the center of a wrapper. Fold the round wrapper in half over the center into a half-moon shape and pinch shut along the edges. The dough should be just sticky enough to seal without using water or egg. Repeat until you have used up all the dough or you run out of filling.

To cook the dumplings, heat an 8- to 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-low to medium-high heat (you may have to adjust the heat according to your stove).

Add about 3 tablespoons vegetable oil and swirl it around to coat the bottom. Place as many dumplings in the skillet as will fit. Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup water to the pan, depending on the size of the pan. Cover immediately with a lid and do not remove or the steam will escape.

Cook until bottoms are crisp and brown but not burned, about 7 to 9 minutes. The sizzling will subside as the water evaporates. Remove the potstickers with a spatula.

Serve with Soy-Ginger Dipping Sauce: Combine 1/3 cup soy sauce, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar; 1 stalk green onions, chopped; 1 teaspoon minced ginger; 1 handful of fresh cilantro, chopped; 1 clove garlic, crushed.